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Work Trip & Okefenokee Swamp

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We had planned to only spend one night in Douglas, GA. An insulation crew needed our help. They are a great company so we knew the job wouldn’t take long. We would spend a couple of hours at a nearby State Park and then would be on our way back to Alabama. But then the crew talked us into taking an extra day to visit Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

In March of 2012, we had visited the Refuge with our girls and had loved it. Now with spring in full bloom, we decided to take our customer’s advice and visit again.

But first, we stopped at General Coffee State Park. It’s a small park but has so much to offer. We hiked a couple of trails, visited a historic farm, and found what we were looking for: pitcher plants. We almost didn’t find them and we couldn’t really get to them but we were close enough to get decent photos.

Once at the Refuge, we soon found an alligator and the yellow flies soon found us. They dined on us even though we used half a bottle of DEET in an attempt to repel them.

The Refuge visitor center was closed but fortunately, Okefenokee Swamp Park was open. We took their boat ride, nature class, and train ride. It was fantastic!!

There were so many gators of all sizes. The best part, however, was climbing the 100+ stairs to the top of the observation tower to get a fantastic view of the Refuge. It was definitely worth taking an extra day and even worth several yellow fly bites.

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Celebrating 10 Years of RV Full Timing with Our Family and Now as Empty Nesters

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Ten years ago today, we officially started our full time RVing adventure. We had already bought the camper, worked on it a bit, and had taken it on a few small trips but on May 21, 2011, we moved out of our house and became a full time RV family.

It’s so hard to believe we’ve been at this RV life for ten years because it really does seem like just yesterday and yet, we have packed so much into those years. When we took off, we knew of no other families who were full-timing and in the years we were living in our travel trailer with our kids, we only met one other full time RV family.

At the end of the video, we put a slide show of just a very few of our memories. This barely scratches the surface of all the places we have visited and the experiences we have had. We didn’t even show only the highlights because there are way too many of those.

It’s been the experience of a lifetime and we’re so thankful to still be full timing.  

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Turning Up the Heat in the RV! Keeping a RV Warm in the Winter Months

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When the temperatures drop, we are often asked by concerned family and friends if we are warm enough in our travel trailer. People are especially concerned if we are warm enough at night. The answer is always yes!

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Follow Us as We Remodel an Old Truck Camper

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One of the things about the RV lifestyle is that you have to be willing to roll with the punches. So many factors can change your plans at the last minute. That’s always been ok with us because it has often led to some of our best experiences.

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Upgrades to Our Home Sweet Home

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We didn’t have any travel on schedule for awhile when we got back from Rockford, IL so we spent time making some upgrades to the camper. SuzAnne was able to squeeze in some time kayaking and hiking with friends.

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From 2013 to 2020

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From 2013-2020, life has certainly changed for us during that time! We are reviving this blog. We also started a Facebook page and YouTube channel. Like and subscribe!!

When we began this wild adventure, we started with 3 young girls who have now grown up and are making their own way! Here is an update on our travels and what we are now doing!

We “settled” down in Gulf Shores, Alabama. While sitting around a Michigan campfire in the summer of 2012, I asked our girls, where do you want to spend the winter? Secretly, I had already chosen the Keys of Florida… but everyone of our girls, wife included, said “Gulf Shores” without hesitation. So… here we are… what was supposed to be wintering in Alabama has now turned into our “home base.”

Jenna, our oldest daughter took training to become a realtor. She happily runs up and down the coast-line selling properties. She also now has a baby boy that is the joy of our life!

Mikayla & Whitley Hilderbrand

Mikayla, our second daughter started a painting business, found a great guy, and now lives in North Alabama. She amazes us with her industrious and hilarious approach to life! Whitley, our new son-in-law, is an amazing musician and shares Mikayla’s sense of humor. We are so glad they found each other!

Èva

Èva, our youngest, just bought a RV and lives a couple of rows away from us, at the moment. She, like our other girls, is an extremely hard worker. For a number of years, she worked with Marine Science Adventures and really loves wildlife. Currently, she works for a Coastal Alabama program.

SuzAnne with a barracuda.

SuzAnne works for Marine Science Adventures. She volunteers at Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge where she guides walks about the native plant life. She worked hard to earn both, the Mississippi Master Naturalist and Alabama Master Naturalist certifications.

Barry Well… I continue to sell insulation machines and travel all over training crews on how to insulate houses. My website company is now just the right size to manage. Website technology has come a long way since 2013… I have now developed into more of a media company. The kids moved out and the drones moved in! 😀

Here’s how much of the US we have covered, so far. Looks like SuzAnne and I have quite a bit more traveling ahead of us!

Lots of School But a Lot of FUN Too!

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The cardinal rule of blogging is that you must keep up with it every day. I have more than broken the rule! This has mostly been because we hit school very hard the first couple of weeks we were in Florida. We DSC01608wanted to be able to spend as much time as we could with family and friends we have in the Sarasota area and we also wanted to be able to take a spring break without getting behind. I’ll give a brief rundown of the days I’ve missed and then I’ll hit Everglades National Park and Biscayne National Park in separate posts.

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